Nicholas Lonergan?â
Bonnie gasped, the small twinge twisting into a large cramp, filling her stomach.
âI take it the name is familiar,â Captain Mahoney stated, eyes narrowing and lifting toward Bonnie.
âNicholas Lonergan is my brother,â Bonnie said. Her back stiffened even as she felt her legs turn to jelly.
âInteresting,â Captain Mahoney remarked casually. âI see he got himself into a bit of trouble a few years back.â He flipped to the next page.
âI donât understandâ¦.â
âWhat about a Steve Lonergan?â
Bonnie felt as if she had just stepped into some kind of peculiar time warp, as if the words she was hearing, the words she was speaking, were coming from somewhere and someone else. âMy father,â she acknowledged. What was going on? What were her father and brother, two men she hadnât spoken to in over three years, doing here in this room with her now? In what perverse way had Joanâs murder served to reunite them?
âYou might want to have a look through this,â Captain Mahoney said, dropping the open scrapbook into her arms. It felt surprisingly light, considering he had just dumped the entire weight of her past into her hands.
Bonnie glanced down at the first page, almost afraid of what she might see. A small newspaper clipping occupied the center of the otherwise blank space. The marriage is announced of Bonnie Lonergan to Rod Wheeler on June 27, 1989. Ms. Lonergan is a high school English teacher. Mr. Wheeler is the news director at television station WHDH in Boston. The couple will honeymoon in the Bahamas .
Why would Joan have saved her wedding announcement? Bonnie wondered, turning the page, conscious of Rod reading over her shoulder, his breath warm on the back of her neck. A small line of perspiration broke out along her upper lip as she read the second clipping, dated November 5 of that same year. WARRANTS ISSUED IN LAND FRAUD SCHEME said the headline. Warrants have been issued for two men believed to have been involved in a scheme to defraud investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Scott Dunphy and Nicholas Lonergan, both of Boston, are believed to have spearheaded an attempt to defraud hundreds of potential investorsâ¦.
âMy God,â Bonnie whispered, skipping the balance of the article she already knew by heart and moving quickly to the next page, seeing a large, grainy black-and-white photograph of her brother in handcuffs, his handsome face obscured by chin-length shaggy blond hair. Then on the next page: PAIR ACQUITTED IN LAND DEVELOPMENT SCHEME . Judge cites lack of evidence .
And then another small announcement in the middle of an otherwise blank page: The marriage is announced of Steve Lonergan to Adeline Sewell on March 15, 1990. Mr. Lonergan is an employment counselor. Ms. Sewell runs a travel agency. They will honeymoon in Las Vegas . The announcement neglected to mention it was the third marriage for each of them.
The next page was filled with news about Rod: a flattering profile, including photographs, of the hotshot director of news at station WHDH; and the announcement of the creation of Marla! with Rod at the helm, a picture of the dynamic duo arm in arm, and a chart of the programâs growing success.
And then back to more unflattering shots of her brother in handcuffs, looking a little older, a lot more haggard, an oddly smiling Scott Dunphy beside him, this time under the lurid headline PAIR FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER .
Bonnie quickly turned the page. She had no desire to relive those awful months wedged between her motherâs death and the birth of her child, both announcements suitably enshrined on the next few pages, Bonnie noted with mounting unease.
The last page in the album was entirely taken up with a newspaper picture of her daughter, Amanda, snapped that past Christmas when they were in Toys âRâ Us. A photographer had caught
Bonnie gasped, the small twinge twisting into a large cramp, filling her stomach.
âI take it the name is familiar,â Captain Mahoney stated, eyes narrowing and lifting toward Bonnie.
âNicholas Lonergan is my brother,â Bonnie said. Her back stiffened even as she felt her legs turn to jelly.
âInteresting,â Captain Mahoney remarked casually. âI see he got himself into a bit of trouble a few years back.â He flipped to the next page.
âI donât understandâ¦.â
âWhat about a Steve Lonergan?â
Bonnie felt as if she had just stepped into some kind of peculiar time warp, as if the words she was hearing, the words she was speaking, were coming from somewhere and someone else. âMy father,â she acknowledged. What was going on? What were her father and brother, two men she hadnât spoken to in over three years, doing here in this room with her now? In what perverse way had Joanâs murder served to reunite them?
âYou might want to have a look through this,â Captain Mahoney said, dropping the open scrapbook into her arms. It felt surprisingly light, considering he had just dumped the entire weight of her past into her hands.
Bonnie glanced down at the first page, almost afraid of what she might see. A small newspaper clipping occupied the center of the otherwise blank space. The marriage is announced of Bonnie Lonergan to Rod Wheeler on June 27, 1989. Ms. Lonergan is a high school English teacher. Mr. Wheeler is the news director at television station WHDH in Boston. The couple will honeymoon in the Bahamas .
Why would Joan have saved her wedding announcement? Bonnie wondered, turning the page, conscious of Rod reading over her shoulder, his breath warm on the back of her neck. A small line of perspiration broke out along her upper lip as she read the second clipping, dated November 5 of that same year. WARRANTS ISSUED IN LAND FRAUD SCHEME said the headline. Warrants have been issued for two men believed to have been involved in a scheme to defraud investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Scott Dunphy and Nicholas Lonergan, both of Boston, are believed to have spearheaded an attempt to defraud hundreds of potential investorsâ¦.
âMy God,â Bonnie whispered, skipping the balance of the article she already knew by heart and moving quickly to the next page, seeing a large, grainy black-and-white photograph of her brother in handcuffs, his handsome face obscured by chin-length shaggy blond hair. Then on the next page: PAIR ACQUITTED IN LAND DEVELOPMENT SCHEME . Judge cites lack of evidence .
And then another small announcement in the middle of an otherwise blank page: The marriage is announced of Steve Lonergan to Adeline Sewell on March 15, 1990. Mr. Lonergan is an employment counselor. Ms. Sewell runs a travel agency. They will honeymoon in Las Vegas . The announcement neglected to mention it was the third marriage for each of them.
The next page was filled with news about Rod: a flattering profile, including photographs, of the hotshot director of news at station WHDH; and the announcement of the creation of Marla! with Rod at the helm, a picture of the dynamic duo arm in arm, and a chart of the programâs growing success.
And then back to more unflattering shots of her brother in handcuffs, looking a little older, a lot more haggard, an oddly smiling Scott Dunphy beside him, this time under the lurid headline PAIR FOUND GUILTY OF CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER .
Bonnie quickly turned the page. She had no desire to relive those awful months wedged between her motherâs death and the birth of her child, both announcements suitably enshrined on the next few pages, Bonnie noted with mounting unease.
The last page in the album was entirely taken up with a newspaper picture of her daughter, Amanda, snapped that past Christmas when they were in Toys âRâ Us. A photographer had caught
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